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"Thank You"
[Previous post: "Helping Hands", written by our heroic savior Francois]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Corridor
Stardate: 63072.1515

Lea had checked upon the crewman from the LANCELOT before she had left Sickbay. He had been in bad shape but he would live, but not because the CMO had acted as she had. Doctor Summers had gone against Enaii and received a painful reminder that the ILO did not take kindly to disobedience. Still a life had been saved and the people responsible deserved to be properly acknowledged.

Disconnected images flashed in the CMO's mind as she walked down the corridor to the nearest turbolift. This had not been the first time Doctor Summers had found her way into trouble. The universe seemed to delight in tormenting her, but Lea could not remember ever having felt so scared.

At first she had feared for her own life as the dark, robotic monster moved closer. When Elliot and Elan had appeared in the room though, the fear had shifted onto them. To risk her own life had been foolish, but to drag the COO and CEO into the mess had been irresponsible. How bad would she had felt had either one been hurt, or worse?

The ILO had appeared unimaginably cold and unfeeling when she had stunned the LANCELOT's crewman. The CMO had even thought that Enaii had been beyond cruel in her methods and logic. Now though Doctor Summers began to realize that the Commander had done what she had believed to be right. Not for herself but for the group as a whole and the mission. As the Vulcans often said, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.

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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 21, Cybernetics / Robotics Lab
Stardate: 63072.1520

A cold shiver swept through Lea as she walked into the room to see the metallic monster on the diagnostic table. Its head as well as much of the armor plating on its body had been removed, still the beast appeared menacing. Elan and Elliot had lost themselves in their work, so they had not noticed the CMO's arrival. Doctor Summers hesitated in saying something for fear of interrupting or even waking the immobile robot.

"Doctor Summers?" Ensign Thomas said as he noticed the woman standing next to the wall. "Glad to see you on your feet."

The Oltharian quickly turned at the news that the CMO had been in the room with them. The quiet smile that formed on the CEO's face spoke volumes and instantly made Lea feel safe.

"I wanted to thank you both for what you did back on the LANCELOT," Lea said. The CMO still felt a little apprehensive about moving closer, so she remained near the door. "If it hadn't been for you, there would have been two more casualties."

"It was an honor to help Healer," the Oltharian said as if he had done nothing worth mentioning.

"Elan," Lea said in disbelief. "You *saved* my life, I think it qualifies a little more than you *helping*."

Ensign Thomas chuckled to himself. Elan was Elan, and there had been nothing in this universe that could change that. Likewise Enaii had been Enaii, and she too seemed unyielding in her ways. "Are you planning on thanking the ILO for her role as well?" The question had been meant as a joke, even if not an overly amusing one.

Lea glued herself to the wall at those words. True the ILO and Marines had arrived just in time to save them all, but a 'thank you' had seemed a little of a stretch. It would have been like thanking an executioner for cutting off your head. If the CMO had to thank Enaii for something it would have to be for the Operative not having killed the Doctor.

"I am sure that Commander Enaii is pleased with the knowledge that she saved us all," the Oltharian said. The voice of the giant, like him, had been gentle and filled with wisdom. "A thank you would likely be considered a waste of her time."

Elliot and Lea seemed in complete agreement with Elan. The ILO had best been left to her ways; it had been the safest course of action for all.

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Tiffany Rose {lady.tiffany.rose@gmail.com}

Lt. Lea Summers
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS